REGION: Ex-CIA executive pleads guilty to wire fraud

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A former high-ranking CIA official pleaded
guilty Monday to abusing his influence within the agency to direct
lucrative contracts toward an old friend who showered him with tens
of thousands of dollars of gifts.

Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, 53, of Vienna, Va., struck a deal in U.S.
District Court, pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud for
"depriving the United States and its citizens of their right to his
honest services."

As part of the plea, prosecutors dropped 27 other counts against
him and agreed to seek a prison term no longer than three years and
a month.

Foggo was the agency's third-highest-ranking officer from 2004
to 2006 and responsible for its daily operations.

He will be sentenced Jan. 8 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
However, it is far more likely that U.S. District Judge James
Cacheris will impose a sentence more closely in line with the
three-year term recommended by prosecutors.

Foggo was not charged with taking bribes, but prosecutors said
in court papers that he received up to $70,000 of gifts from his
friend Brent Wilkes, a defense contractor.

The gifts included expensive dinners at gourmet steakhouses and
free vacations for Foggo and his family in Scotland and Hawaii.

He and his lawyer declined to comment after the hearing.

The case against Foggo resulted from an investigation of former
congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who admitted taking
bribes from Wilkes.

Cunningham pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than eight
years in prison.

Wilkes was convicted and sentenced to 12 years.

Prosecutors said Foggo had a standing offer of high-paying
employment with Wilkes if he ever left the CIA.

In return, prosecutors said, Foggo helped Wilkes' company obtain
multiple contracts from the CIA and conceal the contractor's
connections to the deal.

According to court papers, one contract was for the delivery of
bottled water overseas where Foggo was a supervisor. The contract
amount was not disclosed, but prosecutors said the price reflected
a 60 percent markup.

Among the charges dropped were allegations that Foggo pulled
strings to get his mistress hired by the CIA and stationed close to
him.

Foggo was subdued in court Monday when he entered his guilty
plea and answered questions from the judge acknowledging he
understood the consequences.

He remains free on bond pending his sentencing.

The plea comes three weeks after prosecutors said that Foggo was
threatening to expose the cover of practically every agent with
whom he had contact as part of his defense.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said the agency cooperated with
investigators but declined to comment on specifics of the case.